Zhu Rugui, A 17-year-old vocational school student, checks a patient's information in the Xiaochang First People's Hospital of Xiaochang County in Xiaogan City, central China's Hubei Province. (Photo provided by interviewee)
A 17-year-old student saw despair and death in COVID-19 wards but the experience ushered in a new chapter in his understanding of life.
XI'AN, April 23 (Xinhua) -- Had it not been for the novel coronavirus outbreak, Zhu Rugui would have gone on holiday with his family during the winter vacation. He had even packed a large suitcase for the trip.
It was the very suitcase that he later carried as he sneaked out of home and trekked hundreds of miles to Hubei, the hardest-hit province in central China, to join in the fight against the virus.
Zhu, 17, is a vocational school student in Meixian County, northwest China's Shaanxi Province.
He served as the youngest and only non-local volunteer in the Xiaochang First People's Hospital in Hubei until late March when the existing number of COVID-19 cases in the hospital dropped to zero.
Among the 82,798 total confirmed COVID-19 cases on the Chinese mainland, 77,207 people had been discharged after recovery by Wednesday, according to the National Health Commission (NHC).
RUNNING AWAY
Zhu's resolution came from Zhong Nanshan, a renowned 84-year-old respiratory specialist who had been to the outbreak epicenter of Wuhan, capital of Hubei, several times to guide the epidemic control efforts.
"Even a man in his 80s was fighting at the front line. How could young people like me retreat into our shells like turtles?" he said.
When the teenager said he was going to visit a classmate in the provincial capital of Xi'an, his single mother scolded him and confined him at home by hiding his ID card. He then told her he was heading out for a walk.
Behind her back, Zhu returned to get his suitcase, applied for a temporary ID card at a bus station and departed with money he borrowed from classmates.
On the way, Zhu blocked the WeChat accounts of his mother and sister. "I was afraid I wouldn't have been so persistent if my mom cried over the phone to persuade me to turn back," he said.
He also texted his best friend, sending the passwords of his WeChat, Alipay and bank accounts. "Please forward this to my mom if I don't return," the message said.
It took him three days -- by bus, train, cab and on foot for the final 100-km stretch because of the lockdown -- to arrive at Xiaochang County, where the virus was already widespread.
On hearing a severely short-handed local hospital had accepted his offer to volunteer, Zhu gave up his plan of going to Wuhan.
"All the Wuhan hospitals I called had turned me down because I was too young, so I decided to stay at Xiaochang," he said.
GROWING UP
Tang Xiaoyan, deputy director of the nursing department of the Xiaochang hospital, remembered how Zhu volunteered to serve at the isolation ward.
Zhu Rugui, A 17-year-old vocational school student, checks patients' information in the Xiaochang First People's Hospital of Xiaochang County in Xiaogan City, central China's Hubei Province. (Photo provided by interviewee)
"Inexperienced as I am, I can do cleaning and deliver meals," Tang recalled Zhu saying. She also received a text message from Zhu saying, "in the dangerous fight, someone has to stand out."
After a series of training sessions, Zhu was finally approved to enter the isolation ward of the respiratory department. In suffocating protective gear, he delivered meals to the patients, collected garbage and helped those in serious condition turn over and relieve themselves.
Despite being covered by a mask, he often grinned at the patients. Sometimes when the patients did not understand him due to his strong accent, he acted out exaggerated gestures to make them laugh. "Laughter brings them confidence," he said.
In the ward, Zhu saw depression, despair and death.
He had spent three hours taking care of 70-year-old "Grandma Wu" as he called her, grinding pills for her and feeding her with a syringe, before he was told the news of her death later that same day.
"I couldn't hold back tears, for she was just holding my hands a few hours before," he said, taking a deep breath.
By Wednesday, 4,632 people had died of COVID-19 on the Chinese mainland, according to the NHC.
More news was encouraging, ranging from the recovery of patients in serious condition to the arrival of a medical team from Chongqing Municipality, part of national efforts to pair up the hard-hit cities with different regions across China for support in the form of personnel and supplies.
More than 42,000 medics were assigned to Hubei to help with the treatment of COVID-19 patients.
Zhu said he was also moved by the patients. As Zhu approached, one of the patients who was having lunch put on her mask immediately for fear of infecting him. Another one who was leaving the hospital after recovery said he would treat Zhu like "his son."
"It's not just us who cared for them. They also cared for us," he said.
Zhu Rugui (L), A 17-year-old vocational school student, shakes hands with a doctor in the Xiaochang First People's Hospital of Xiaochang County in Xiaogan City, central China's Hubei Province. (Photo provided by interviewee)
When the last patient in his department was cured and dismissed on March 4, Zhu was so thrilled that he jumped off the bed, shedding tears.
Zhu's mother, Zhu Weihong, had no idea about the whereabouts of her son until his teacher, also a friend of her son, told her. "I thought he was visiting a friend," she said, adding he had occasionally spent a few days at a friend's home. Worried about his safety, his mother often called, without blaming him.
Zhu did not return home until the hospital was empty with all COVID-19 patients discharged in late March. On the day of his departure, he was moved to tears again as all his hospital colleagues came to see him off.
Upon the completion of his 14-day quarantine in early April, his friends and family welcomed the young hero back and covered him with a red cloth, a local way of showing the highest respect and best regards. His mother prepared a banquet for him, as he had lost 7.5 kg of weight.
Zhu has decided to join the army after graduation so as to continue his work.
"With few chances to risk my life contributing to society, I will never forget my days at Xiaochang," he said. ■